In print shops that produce large sets of documents, such as credit card statements, other bills, marketing materials, or other transactional, customized or repeating documents, it is often the case that job arrivals and due dates follow a repeating pattern. The pattern may have rhythms and/or cycles, such as daily, monthly, weekly and/or annual cycles. Jobs that have shorter patterns typically have shorter due dates, and there can be large penalties if the jobs are late. If a job having a longer pattern and/or deadline arrives when a short deadline job is due, the job may disrupt operation and result in significant time and cost.
This document describes methods and systems that may help solve some or all of the problems described above, and that may provide additional benefits.